WASHINGTON — Members of Congress return to the Capitol on Monday with very little time to do very little work.

Lawmakers will have as few as seven legislative days before going home for the November midterm elections. And they have set their sights relatively low for that brief time: Pass a stopgap spending bill that keeps the government operating until December, keep the doors of the federal Export-Import Bank open until a lame-duck session of Congress in November and, possibly, extend a moratorium on federal Internet taxes that is scheduled to end on Nov. 1.

Senate Democrats and House Republicans will also take a series of politically freighted votes designed not to pass legislation but to rally their base voters, a difficult task when Americans hold members of Congress in such low collective regard.

While leaders typically want their members home campaigning for re-election, this year is extraordinary. House members will arrive late Monday with the promise of an early getaway Thursday afternoon, no real work until the Wednesday after that and, if all goes according to plan, a midafternoon getaway on Sept. 19 that will extend until Nov. 12. Discounting the days with a late start or an early ending, Congress may have just four full workdays over the next nine weeks.

“Our calendar, not only the House’s but the Senate calendar and clearly the president’s, does not reflect the priorities and problems our country is facing,” Representative Scott Rigell, Republican of Virginia, said. “I am unapologetic about saying that, and I think it’s irrefutable.”

Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the majority leader, quoted the humorist Sam Ewing to open a memo to House Republicans on Thursday: “Hard work spotlights the character of people: Some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don’t turn up at all.”

That prompted Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the minority leader, to respond: “After reading this bizarre memo, it shouldn’t be surprising that House Republicans are considering canceling the last week of session in September.”

Lawmakers in both parties acknowledge there is work to do. The House Intelligence, Armed Services, Foreign Affairs and Homeland Security Committees all plan to hold hearings in the next two weeks on the threat posed by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Some Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate have called on Congress to authorize expanded airstrikes against the group, but so far, leaders in both parties have chosen not to disturb the political waters before Election Day on Nov. 4.

“The president needs a goal and an objective. Then he needs to come up with a strategy before he engages Congress,” said Representative Jason Chaffetz, Republican of Utah. “It’s pretty hard to vote on bombing other countries before understanding what he wants to do.”

House Republican leaders hope to pass a stopgap spending bill as early as this week to ensure the government continues operating after the fiscal year ends on Sept. 30, but Congress has dropped any pretense of passing fully formed spending bills before the lame-duck session this fall. If Republicans win control of the Senate, real spending bills may not pass until next year.

Leaders are feverishly negotiating with Representative Jeb Hensarling, Republican of Texas, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, to put off any fight over the Export-Import Bank until after Election Day. The bank, which provides loans to foreign buyers of American goods, has incurred the wrath of conservatives who denounce its “crony capitalism.”

Senate Democratic leaders hope to quietly attach legislation that would temporarily keep the bank open to the House’s continuing resolution funding the government.

“The fact that Republicans don’t want to be seen as too disruptive makes it likely we will get a short-term C.R., but I say that with the caveat that you never know with these guys,” said Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, referring to a continuing resolution. “And there will be some short-term extension of Ex-Im with it.”

Senators have been summoned for a Monday evening vote on whether to take up a constitutional amendment to reinstate limits on corporate and union donations that the Supreme Court has struck down. Republicans may agree to take up debate on the amendment simply to stave off deliberation on other issues, including a minimum-wage increase, contraception insurance coverage and student loan legislation.

“It’s a bunch of silliness for two weeks,” said Don Stewart, spokesman for Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the minority leader.

The House floor agenda is similar. Republican leaders will wrap together into one large “jobs” bill a series of already-passed bills trimming environmental, securities and labor regulations; paring back the Affordable Care Act; and permanently extending business tax breaks. Another series of House-passed bills will be repackaged as an energy measure. The Senate has ignored these bills for months.

Representative Bill Cassidy, Republican of Louisiana, who is running for the Senate, will get a vote on his bill to guarantee that small businesses will not lose their health insurance plans once the Affordable Care Act’s small-business exchange is running. Another series of bills will focus on the Internal Revenue Service and what Republicans say has been a targeting of Tea Party groups seeking tax exemptions. Mr. Rigell will get a vote on a resolution condemning the Obama administration for failing to inform Congress of the transfer of Taliban prisoners from the military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, in exchange for the release of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl of the Army.

Mr. Rigell said the House, at least, had made some progress passing legislation, especially spending bills. But no one has much to trumpet.

“We’ve done better,” he said. “But our performance heretofore was so low and so deficient, it didn’t take much to indicate improvement.”

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A17 of the New York edition with the headline: Light Pre-Election Schedule in Congress Matches Legislative Goals. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe